Released towards the end of 2010, The John Walker is an ultra-premium expression of Johnie Walker Blue Label, crafted using some of the very oldest whiskies available from Diageo's vast maturing stock - including some very old whiskies from distilleries long since closed including Cambus and Glen Albyn, alongside traditional Johnnie Walker cornerstones such as Cardhu and Talisker.

Overall: Quite unlike anything else I have tried. The nose is fantastically focused! If it was vision it would be Blue-Ray on a huge plasma in a dark empty room. It just has this I-can’t-move effect. Similarly the taste is huge and really makes you stop and think. The silky texture of it just seems to defy the laws of physics and organic chemistry, it’s like oil solution.

Tasting Notes by Dr. Whisky

Accumulative, growing and developing with each whiff, floral, fresh and outdoorsy with chamomile and sweet grass, coffee, brown sugar, complex and alluring. Citrus and smoke appear, with more aromatic sweetness. Something new with each nosing.

Licorice, honey, more chamomile and coffee, mocha, a distinctly resiny character balanced by a beautiful melon freshness. Elegant and layered with richness.

Producer's Tasting Notes

Nose: Mature fruits slowly supersede aromas of fresh citrus.

Palate: A vanilla oak sweetness is framed by a certain zest of the great classic Johnnie Walker Speyside whiskies, including Mortlach, which bring elegant structure and enormous body.

Finish: Smooth & mellow, reaching its climax in rich smokiness. So many big characters, malt and grain, smoke and richness, are all held together in harmony and controlled balance with smoothness.

The John Walker has been created to capture the essence of the founder: powerful but quiet and elegant; giant flavours, slowly unfolding with great dignity. Controlled power and richness building finally to a crescendo and then, the elegant rich smoke bringing this to a close.